Guilty Plea in Grand Rapids Bank Fraud Case

Created: 01/16/2013 7:07 AM KSTP.com
By: Jennie Olson

The former owner of a car dealership in Grand Rapids has pleaded guilty to bank fraud.

Forty-seven-year-old Jodi Anne Montavon is charged with defrauding American Bank of the North of $1.5 million. A federal indictment says Montavon exaggerated the cost of vehicles at her Ford dealership so she could borrow more money than the cars were worth. It also says Montavon was selling financed vehicles without promptly repaying the money advanced by the bank to buy them.

The Duluth News Tribune says the court ordered a presentence investigation. The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)